Adhunik Power emerges as preferred bidder for coal mine in Jharkhand

Representative image (Source: Reuters)

Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd has emerged as the preferred bidder for Lalgarh (North) coal mine in Jharkhand.

Auro Coal Pvt Ltd has emerged as the preferred bidder for the Beheraband North Extension coal block in Madhya Pradesh, the coal ministry said in a statement.

The coal ministry had launched second attempt of auction of 11 coal mines for commercial mining on September 27 and bids were received for four mines, it said.

The auction was held for two mines that have received multiple bids.

With the conduct of this auction, the Ministry of Coal has successfully auctioned 30 mines till date (comprising of 23 fully explored mines and seven partially explored mines) from the launch of the first tranche in June last year.

The total peak rated capacity auctioned till date is 63.17 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) with an average premium of approximately 27.78 percent against the floor price of 4 percent indicating strong demand for coal mines in the market.

These mines are expected to generate total annual revenue of Rs 8,158.03 crore and an estimated employment of 85,406.

Commercial coal mine auction has witnessed strong competition and several first-time participants from the 'non-end user' category like real estate, infrastructure, pharma, etc, have also emerged as successful bidders in the auction, which is a positive sentiment shared by the industry after removal of 'end use' criteria from the bidding process and is expected to bring in more efficiency and technological advancement in the mining industry.